Shout Sister Shout!, Ford's Theatre, Washington, DC

Carrie Compere as Sister Rosetta Tharpe (center) with the cast of Shout Sister Shout! Photo credit: Andre Chung.

It is a rare event when I attend a performance of a play I know nothing (or almost nothing) about. (I wish I had kept a running list over the years of all of the performances I have been fortunate enough to see.)

Such is the case, however, with the current production at Ford’s Thatre: Shout Sister Shout! (Every reference to the play in the program is written without commas, and in all CAPS as well. My inner grammarian grimaces.) Having scored a free ticket to the final preview performance through TodayTix, I wasn’t about to miss this opportunity.

Shout Sister Shout! defies easy categorization. It is a “jukebox musical,” in which the songs by a famous musician are assembled in a way to tell the subject’s story (Jersey Boys, for example) or songs are arranged to tell an invented story (Mamma Mia! is a good example). Possibly the first (and maybe only) gospel-based jukebox musical, Shout Sister Shout! falls into the first category, telling the fact-based story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973). Sister Rosetta’s roots were in the Black church and gospel music, but she “crossed over” to wider audiences by incorporating elements of swing, jazz, blues, country, and rock and roll. Playing her own guitar at a time when guitar-playing women were rare (especially in gospel music!), Sister Rosetta influenced generations of musicians, including Little Richard (who makes a brief appearance in the show), Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley, as well as Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, and Tina Turner. Sometimes referred to as “the godmother of rock and roll,” she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Not being a connoisseur of gospel music, I had never heard of her. I would soon learn plenty.

Cheryl L. West created the libretto for Shout Sister Shout!, based on Gayle F. Wald’s 2007 biography, Shout, Sister, Shout! The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The book also served as the basis of the 2011 documentary film, “Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Godmother of Rock.”

We first meet Sister Rosetta as a teen, playing guitar and singing gospel with her evangelist mother. She marries a controlling minister with violent tendencies, leaving him after a tense, threatening interchange. Wooed by agents promising her a bright future in New York, she alters her form of gospel and appears at the Cotton Club, among other more secular venues. Her mother and others (including Mahalia Jackson, in a memorable encounter) disapprove of her deviation from traditional gospel, but soon the money is rolling in and she is in demand. She experiences an attraction to a beautiful musician, Marie Knight, and they begin a personal and professional relationship. When tragedy befalls Marie’s family, Sister Rosetta is left alone. She reconciles with her mother and eventually agrees to a publicity stunt in which she will marry her next husband at Washington’s Griffith Stadium, with a paying audience of 25,000 in attendance. Later, she suffers a stroke and has a leg amputated due to complications from diabetes. We last see her, seated in her wheelchair, still singing her mother’s favorite, “Precious Memories.”

Even though much of the action in the play is predictable (of course the teenaged bride will marry a man who abuses her and of course she and her mother will be at odds when it comes to her music, for example), that is what actually happened.

Carrie Compere literally “takes us to church” as Sister Rosetta. She fills the role with passion and a voice that soars with spine-tingling intensity. Carol Dennis, as her mother, has a different energy, but a similarly thrilling voice. The two of them not only fill the stage with their presence, they have a mother-daughter dynamic that is honest and believable. Felicia Boswell gives a heart-breaking performance as Sister Rosetta’s partner, Marie.

Little Richard isn’t the only well-known figure whose path crosses with Sister Rosetta during the play: Cab Calloway, the Nicholas Brothers, Dizzy Gillespie, and Mahalia Jackson appear as well. Jamal Antony Shuriah is nimble and sincere as Little Richard. Kelli Blackwell is imperious and commanding as Mahalia Jackson, and although Keenan McCarter’s cheeks don’t quite match the real Dizzy Gillespie, his is a fine characterization and his trumpet-playing top notch as well. The entire ensemble is sharp and on point. Special mentions to Sinclair Mitchell, suitably menacing as Sister Rosetta’s abusive first husband, and Joe Mallon as Sister Rosetta’s fussy manager.

Kenneth L. Roberson serves as director and William Carlos Angulo as choreographer, keeping the show in focus and moving well. Sheilah V. Walker is musical director, with Victor Simonson conducting an 8-person orchestra, adapting styles as often as some of the musicians change instruments. Scenic designer Tim Mackabee gets ample mileage from the stage’s turntable, taking us to a variety of locales. Alejo Vietti designed the costumes, which range from the drably mundane to the glamorous. The production is supervised by Sheldon Epps.

If you are an aficionado of gospel music – or just interested in seeing some raise-the-roof performances – I commend Shout Sister Shout! to you, even missing the commas. The play continues through May 13.